The European Renaissance was a period of great cultural change and achievement that began in Italy at the end of 1390 marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. The word renaissance (Rinascimento in Italian) means "rebirth" in French, and the era is best known for the renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity.

There is no definite consensus about an exact date for its beginning however in Italy the Renaissance was in full swing in Florence, under the patronage of the Medici family (end 1300 till end of 1500).

After Florence the Renaissance spread to Venice, Milan, Rome and peaked in the mid-16th century as foreign invasions plunged the region into the turmoil of the Italian Wars. However, the ideas and ideals of the Renaissance endured and even spread into the rest of Europe, setting off the Northern Renaissance, and the English Renaissance.

During the Renaissance the social position of the artist had changed as much as the art itself. Florence. Milan, Rome and Venice witnessed the triumph of art patronage and of painting and sculpture. The language of the Renaissance art is the language of the modern world. Artists went to Florence from all over Europe attracted by the name of Lorenzo Il Magnifico, not only for the monetary reward but above all because he was a connoisseur, a patron who knew their talent, understood their problems and was able to discover genius when he saw it, for example Michelangelo.